About Me

Originally a geologist by training, I now work as a museum professional. My passion is old photographs, the photographers who took them, the equipment and technologies they used, the people and scenes in the photos, and the stories behind them.

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Sepia Saturday 89: W. Barnes & Co shop front

After a lengthy break from blogging - my last contribution was seven weeks ago - I will resume my weekly Sepia Saturday posts with a gentle start. Alan Burnett's photo prompt displays a Sydney, New South Wales shop front in 1934, and is titled "Depression Bread Wars: Corner Shop ..."

Despite the wealth of perhaps far more interesting themes that I could explore, I'm instead going to share a sedate photograph of a shop front from my own collection, one which has little in common with that sad scene from the Depression era. It is a loose paper print (149.5 x 109.5 mm) which may at one time have been mounted on card, although all sign of that has long since disappeared, along with its provenance and any external identification of the subjects.

The shop front is that of W. Barnes & Co who, according to the signs, offer a full range of services: glovers, general drapers, milliners/hat specialists, mercers and tailors. I'm guessing that it's winter as they are offering "warm winter gloves" and "jumpers." The group arrayed in and around the front doorway consist of two men and six women. From the women's hairstyles, I'm guessing that it dates from either just before or during the Great War, say between 1910 and 1916ish. A tradesman's bicycle with the firm's name on it is leaning against the window. The shop forms the ground floor of what appears to be a three-storey building. The doorway and the left hand display window are illuminated by electric lights. The pavement is formed, but a little uneven, and the roadway looks to be rather muddy.

If anyone knows where W. Barnes & Co. plied their trade, or can ferret out further clues as to their location, please do leave a hint in the form of a comment below. For the moment, we'll have to just enjoy the photograph, and perhaps some others offered over at Sepia Saturday.

24 comments:

Welcome back Brett, you’ve been missed! That is quite a ‘shop’ and looks almost as though it’s morphing into a department store. I bet they went on to bigger things. I hope you get some more clues as to where it is.

I sat around last nite playing detective on this photo too, hmmm no luck thus far with info gleaned from the photo, but its still a great one! And once its out there who knows who may find there way onto this blog knowing more.

Great picture Brett. The style of dress and the lettering on the 'warm winter gloves' sign suggests to me a slightly later date, say early to mid 1920s. I had a brief look on the 1911 census and couldn't place the shop.

You say this is from Australia? then winter would be May-September instead of what we northern Hemisphere people think of right off. Stocking up on gloves prior to winter would put this photo in March-April, I'd think. Possibly still warm enough for ladies to be wearing lighter weight dresses while advertising for WARM winter gloves (as opposed to the cold ones, ha ha). Searches are complicated by A. S. Barnes & Co publishers, ugh.

Could it have been fall preparing for winter with warm gloves? Looks like quite a big store. Now that I read you too have been absent from Sepia I don't feel so left behind. We return home next week and then I should be back at it for now just reading and enjoying.

Another pose of the employees outside the shop. Was this a photo for the staff or manager? Was the photographer trying to document the neighborhood? I think it was a primitive analog version of Google Street View.

It reminds me of London shop styles. Have you tried www.historicaldirectories.org ? The various directories are amazing resources, and I found a few "barnes - drapers" in the 1914 edition.

As soon as I saw the picture I thought "I recognise that". But before you get too excited let me quickly add that I have not managed to get any further than that. From where I recognise it, I cannot manage to drag from my fading memory other than I have a feeling it was my time spent living in Wimbledon / Merton 40 years ago. Just the kind of mystery that makes Sepia Saturday so enjoyable.

I am trying to trace an old side by side hammer gun with Damascus barrels that has been in the family years. This gun is stamped W. Barnes Ashbourne so the shop you see may be Ashbourne Derbyshire? I have been told that from the 1880's to the 1930's many hardware stores sold shotguns and stamped there own name on them so you never know the shotgun I own could have been brought from that shop by my great grandfather. Hope this helps

James - Thanks for your comment. Somehow I am dubious about this particular W. Barnes & Co selling shotguns alongside the warm gloves and woolly jumpers, and besides, I don't believe this shop is in Ashbourne. However, I am aware of a firm of ironmongers/grocers in Ashbourne run successively by Thomas Barnes (1811-1858), wife Jane Wyatt Barnes (1817-1887) and their son William Barnes (1848-1935). Perhaps they sold firearms for use by local gamekeepers? If you'd like to get in touch by email, I can hunt for some further information for you.

Hi BrettI think I can locate your W.Barnes & Co photo. They were at Market Place, MELTON MOWBRAY. Leicestershire.If you visit Frith's site [ http://www.francisfrith.com/melton-mowbray/photos/market-place-c1950_M60015/ ] you can see a perfect match!Anymore shopfronts?Regards~Paul F